BAHumbug

The problem is nobody can say with certainty. Anecdotally it doesn't appear the queues are omnipresent but equally it's not an isolated incident. I would say it's more likely than not based on what I've read here and elsewhere, and also from feedback at work from others.

My advice, if this is something you are doing in the near future, is to be prepared to queue for a couple of hours and if you get away with 20 minutes consider yourselves lucky.

For myself, my Kindle once again proved it's worth last night - I finished one book and was able to just start another...

BAH

T8191

Thank you, BAH.

We will both be loaded with Kindles, and simply hope for the best when returning at the end of May.

Our outbound flight from LHR T5 on 10 May is, I assume, unlikely to be hugely affected by Industrial Action. Security is a different critical point, I believe

speedbird66

Would love to know that too! Booked to arrive 0620 on a Tuesday morning (just over 3 weeks' time) with an inflexible advance-purchase train ticket due to leave T5 station at 0757. Wonder if I'm cutting it a bit fine now :/

BAHumbug

If this happens I would simply write to the Home Office and demand payment of the extra costs you incur by missing your train entirely due to their incompetence.

BAH

T8191

Nice idea. Do you read the Mail or the Torygraph? Do you honestly think the HO will give a damn?

This is the point at which where the British [stuff the foreigners and those EU people] are actually being screwed by their own Government's incompetence.

THEY know it's a shambles. WE know it's a shambles. The Public have no influence, no matter how many snotty letters they write. Unless you have direct lines of communication to an MP [which reminds me, I must write to a Minister, although he's not involved] or the Meeeja get excited, nothing will happen.

It is not in the Government's interest, or that of the HO, to listen to a baying rabble of a few thousand air travellers. Honestly, it's WAY down their list of priorities. There are big issues … failing to deport terrorists, overflowing prisons, crime levels. The Border is rat-.... in comparison.

cf the thread about E-petitions … wow, last look was 430 people complained. It achieves nothing. It's noise, and is ignored.

perhaps … just perhaps … Media pressures will do something. I'm not holding my breath.

johnashw

Well on the evidence of BA174 yesterday then not great but not disastrous although I am sure it varies day to day. Huge queues for the shuttles from B Gate left me feeling uber-pessimistic but although the queues were long. all gates were manned, e-passport gates working/

Although there were some Daily Mail type moans from a couple of blue rinsers nearby, I reckon it was about 15 mins which was made more bearable by the fact that we kept moving the whole time not like my largely stationary hour long wait into JFK on Monday.

T8191

Thanks … not that there's anything we can do about it, of course.

I've just got a bit hyper about this discussion, as we've not had any serious issues re-entering UK over the last few years.

We will, of course, continue to travel abroad.
It's just the getting home that seems to be a PITA

BAHumbug

I'll curtail the rest of your post for the sake of brevity.

Firstly, I read neither of those publications.

Secondly, unless and until people are collectively willing to start being difficult about issues in the public sphere irrespective of what they are then nothing will change.

Sending a demand to the HO for payment will not work. Of course it won't. But you can then issue a subsequent demand for payment via the small claims court. If enough people collectively did this sort of thing the government would have no choice but to address the issue rather than try to sweep it under the carpet.

This is the same principle that parking offences only work because nobody will challenge them in court. If every single person challenged their parking offence via the court system, as they are legally entitled to do, the system would collapse within weeks.

Your constant negativity on government issues are, frankly, of no use. If you don't want to do anything then don't - but please don't drag those of us down who are willing to be a nuisance on this - and, indeed, other issues.

There's an old saying that populations get the governments they deserve. The constant willingness of the British to just bend over and take it demonstrates this. There is not enough civil disobedience in the UK in my view.

BAH

T8191

Thanks, BAH … permit me to mull that over the weekend.

Especially that bit …

Kgmm77

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B176 Safari/7534.48.3)

With respect, you live "abroad". It's my current taxes that are paying for this!

I don't mean to be cutting, but free choice and all that.

BAHumbug

I'm alright Jack ?

BAH

johnashw

A small group of us at JFK were fatalistically jesting that at least this was good practice for the homeward leg.

Am off to Bangalore tomorrow - last time there and first off, I had to wake up my immigration officer who has dozed off.

m600

BBC News is covering the story.

Kuchen

Well, I'm stuck in an out and back Tensa organised queue currently heading back towards the immigration hall, after a fairly long walk in the other direction in the other lane. Without wanting to jinx it things do seem to be moving quite quickly. Taken me about 20 mins so far and I reckon I'll be in the hall in another 5 mins.

In short it looked horrific, but I think the guys marshalling us are doing good job so it won't actually be too bad... Guess it must be all the practice they've had over the last couple of weeks!

Skipcool3

Kuchen.... 20 mins and you are not even in the Immigration halll...... ???!!!!

I would not be saying that was not too bad..... I think it is terrible.

Waiting for flight this afternoon read a couple of different papers and noticed issue in telegraph as well as evening standard, also on BBC red button (text) and BBC news.

Perhaps the storm is gathering..... notice it is also on business traveller forum.